NOVEL NEXT Chapter 405: I smell a quest
The lead merwoman spat, her pale green tail lashing the water hard enough to send a spray hissing into the air. "What are you talking about, blood sucker? Why would we be on the same side?"
Damon's lips curled into a faint smile. "Because you're not human," he replied casually. "And neither am I. You've fought their kind before, haven't you? The ones who wear light like armor, who call themselves holy." His crimson eyes glowed, cutting through the surf. "They're your real enemies. Not me."
To make sure that his words were properly conveyed, he even took out many holy and divine attuned armor, weapons, and trinkets and dumped them all into the sea right in front of them. "Look for yourself." He showed off proudly. "My kill count is in the thousands now. How many of you can say that?"
The merfolk froze. Dozens of glowing eyes darted between one another, uncertainty breaking through their united front. A low ripple of whispers carried across the ring. "Holy steel…" "So many…" "Thousands?"
Damon used this chance to boast some more.
"I am sort of a hero, by the way. It is very hurtful to see that my own kind would treat me like this. I was expecting a little more respect," Damon finished, his tone dripping with mock offense as he spread his arms wide, standing tall on Erin's coils like a monarch claiming his throne.
"After all, who else has cut down more holy dogs than me? Who else has stained the ground with their sanctified blood?"
The merfolk murmurs grew louder now. A burly merman with jagged coral armor lifted his trident high, water cascading from its prongs as he barked, "He's not lying. I can feel it. The stink of the holy still clings to their weapons. This one has slain many."
The lead merwoman's lips curled, sharp teeth flashing, though her tail no longer lashed in outright hostility. "Hero, you call yourself? You're arrogant, bloodsucker. But arrogance is not always empty. If what you say is true…" She paused, narrowing her eyes and looking towards the distance.
Damon instantly recognized the tell tale signs of a quest. This was precisely why he did not kill these guys. It did not matter that they were level 100. It also did not matter that they were currently be their strongest.
Not only they were in their element but they were also together, united as the whole clan. They were in a position to be able to cast some insanely strong magic. Damon had never personally experienced their attacks but he had heard of it.
Encountering a group of mermen and merwomen together was pretty much a death sentence.
However, things were different for Damon. Because of his special constitution, their strength became their weakness. If he started with his poison, then the entire fight would be over within seconds. Because of the water, his poison would affect them the most.
He can slaughter them all if he wanted to. Erin was definitely ready and waiting to do just that. Even without his poison he would be able to pick them off and deal with them.
But that would definitely be the wrong approach.
He was no longer in the light faction continent!
He was in the dark faction continent!
Over here, these guys were the NPCs and not monsters.
And unlike mobs, NPCs came with quests, reputation systems, and long-term gains. If he played this right, he'd gain something far more valuable than experience points. If he simply went around slaughtering willy nilly he would probably gain some experience points and water element skills but he would also lose out a lot.
There was a specific reason why Damon was dealing with these guys so patiently. Merwomen's tears!
This was an extremely valuable crafting item. Rare, crystalline drops harvested only when trust was won. Priceless for potions, runes, and especially alchemy involving water or blood elements.
But mermen and merwomen were already rare to find and they don't part with this stuff so easily. He had dreamed of getting his hands on even one vial in his last life. Entire guilds had started wars for a handful of those tears.
This was why he was holding his hand. Why he hadn't unleashed poison. This was why he was playing along. He did not know the exact method to get these tears just yet but gaining enough reputation with them should be a start.
"Is there something bothering you?" Damon calmly asked the lead merwoman. She didn't answer right away. Her glowing eyes lingered on the horizon, past the crimson surf, past the rolling tide, toward a jagged stretch of coast where a dense, black-green forest loomed.
Finally, the merwoman spoke, her voice low, but carrying enough weight that the surrounding warriors silenced themselves. "That forest. Something festers there. A demon who has no right to be here. He sullies our waters and feasts on our brethren. He uses a cheap trick to get in and out of the water before we can drag him down. Dozens of our kin have been lost to his maw."
The other merfolk hissed at her words, tails thrashing in agitation. One of the mermen slammed his trident into the surf, sending a plume of scarlet spray skyward. "We call him the Shorebreaker. Half-beast, half-shadow. He waits until dusk, then drags our young into the trees. His laughter poisons the waves."
Damon's crimson eyes gleamed with sudden interest. Bingo! He had hit the nail straight on the head!
A named creature. A demon that had infiltrated territory not its own. And, if the merfolk were this furious, that meant the system was dangling something rare behind the threat.
Damon's gaze lingered on the misted treeline. He could almost feel the malicious presence waiting there. "A demon clever enough to harass a whole tribe of water mages and warriors without being killed… won't be simple prey." He smirked, crimson eyes narrowing. "Which means he'll be worth my time."
The lead merwoman's frown deepened, but a flicker of hope entered her expression. "Prove it, bloodsucker. Slay the Shorebreaker, and the Tides will remember your name."
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